Howd you get so rich?

[frankcastle]

Worked hard, saved my money, lived within my means. Didn't buy stuff unless I could afford it.

Sound advice. People take on too much debt and don't live within their means. That's probably a good start right there.

For people who can rent out their basement. That's not bad either. Having other deflate or pay your mortgage. If you are not in position to buy then get roommates.

Don't own a car if possible. But if you have to have one don't lease it and keep it as long as possible.

Obviously this stuff won't make you rich but if you have debt and your money is tied up in the day to day requirements you'll never have money to invest. If I had the cash I would love to get a rental property near a university in a town like kingston or london. The fees for a property manager are quite reasonable one quote was 6% of the rent.

 

[mrsCALoki]

Simple question

Howd you get so rich?

I know we're not all rolling in dough but I know quite a few people on this board are doing VERY well for themselves.

So howd you do it? Spend half your life in school? Win the lottery? Play the stock market? Marry rich?

Share your stories... I'm looking for some inspiration here~

Got involved with a guy, fell in love with him, and after we got married found out he had 8 figures in investments.

 

[Rockslinger]

A couple of years ago some Dutch guy said that he just sold his business (meat packing?) for $25million. I wouldn't be surprised if he got PM's from a few of the ladies.

 

[David007]

I'm repeating some of the above, but making an average of 500k per year for the past 20 qualifies me a bit.

1. Know your customer's real needs. I started in consulting and moved to software when I could clearly see an opportunity to fill a real need.

2. If at all possible, bootstrap your business, ie grow at a pace that you are entirely self funded. I declined venture cap money and am smaller for it, but I own it all.

3. Be consistently good at what you do. You dont have to be the best in the world, but you do have to be consistently good.

4. Be competitive in your pricing but you dont have to be the cheapest. There is value in quality.

5. Listen to your customers. This doesnt mean always doing what they want, but they need to feel that what they say matters to you.

6. Stick to your knitting. It's easy to get distracted and get spread out too thin.

7. Advertise. Use targetted advertising like trade magazines and google search.

8. Hire people that are smarter than you.

9. Keep your employees happy.

10. Work hard, but have some hobbies . Keep fit mentally and physically. It's a marathon not a sprint.

These are my ten commandments that have served me very well over the years.

 

[anon1]

I'm Bill fucking Gates.
no, I'm Mark fucking Zuckerberg

 

[MuffinMuncher]

1. Take advantage of opportunities and be willing to take calculated risks to move your career forward.
2. Invest wisely, which is not the same as conservatively.
3. Understand that a $500/hr escort is not twice as good as a $250/hr escort.
4. Simplify your life and live within your means with no debt.
5. Make sure your parents don't squander your inheritance.

 

[oil&gas]

.............
5. Make sure your parents don't squander your inheritance.

A better arrangement is to have your parents transfer all of their
assets to you before they pass away as they can always live on welfare.

 

[Don]

I'm not loaded by any stretch but I'm probably in that 1% people are complaining about. My advice sounds simple but it worked for me:

1) Don't give a shit about what other people think. Don't feel the need to impress. Really, I know many people who made a lot of money but got in debt simply because they wanted to "keep up with the jones". I live right downtown. I have TTC next to me. I can walk to work in 15 minutes. I have no need for a car. I DO own one, but it is a simple compact car. Easy to park, good on gas and useful for trips outside of downtown when I need to see family and such. Some of my peers ask me why I drive a car "like that". I told them "I like it and I'm not going to buy a fancy car just to look good"

2) Related to #1. Make sure burn rate < income. It sounds simple but most people get caught up with #1 or just get spoiled. Look at all these retired athletes who are broke. Even though I have money, I will still look at "do I really need this" when about to make a purchase.

3) Related to #2. Avoid debt like the plague. I have no balance on my credit cards. I fully paid off my mortgage ASAP. I have no debt.

4) Don't marry or date a high maintenance girl. I was never into the trophy wife. If you want some action with a hottie, come to TERB to research which SP you should see.

5) Education... in an in-demand field. Place a premium on this. Maybe this should be at the top since income is where it starts. I was lucky here. I have many interests which led to education and career choices that led me to a very nice career.

6) Invest safely. I'm probably in the minority among people with cash. I honestly don't have a lot of interest in the market so I don't have confidence in being more aggressive there. But I have gotten good tips that has helped me from time to time. This leads me to...

7) Try to have more educated peers. And I mean people doing well financially and career wise. You can pick up good advice and insight that can help you out. If you hang out with stoners who are just looking to hang out, you aren't going to get the right insight.

8) Know what you don't know. Related to #6 where I said I don't know a lot about the market so I don't invest like I do.

9) Think global. There is a lot of growth around the world. Many people here never think outside Canada. If they do, it is always the US. North America's time for rapid growth is over. Don't think small.

10) Real estate is a great investment... if done right. Don't get caught up in the bubbles and look at areas that are still affordable but with great growth potential. And always long very very long term (flippers are for losers)

If I think of more, I'll add it later

 

[kkelso]

1. Take advantage of opportunities and be willing to take calculated risks to move your career forward.
2. Invest wisely, which is not the same as conservatively.
3. Understand that a $500/hr escort is not twice as good as a $250/hr escort.
4. Simplify your life and live within your means with no debt.
5. Make sure your parents don't squander your inheritance.

A shout-out to #4. I'm into my second half century now and am somewhat surprised that I have accumulated significant savings. I make a nice living certainly, but not the big bucks. When I contrast myself again my peers who are panicking about retirement the biggest difference I see is that I live modestly.

I like a decent house, and I'll spend on travel and SPs. But I also buy slightly used cars and drive them for 10+ years, don't buy expensive coffee, don't usually have cable and if I do it's basic, pack my lunch for work, don't upgrade TVs and other electronics until they die, borrow books from the library, etc. I'm not frugal at all, I don't look for bargains or use coupons. I just don't buy *stuff*.

The biggest factor of all of course is to stop paying interest at the youngest age possible. I stopped buying things on credit 25 years ago with the exception of houses, and my last mortgage was 10 years ago paid off 4 years later.

It all adds up, and when you sock it away it all adds up and grows.

 

[Fathomabove]

I have always worked for someone else but learned to save 10% of my gross income since I started working. Worked out my retirement plan to figure how much my investments would need to earn for me to live to 100 then got very disciplined about doing that part of my savings. Like most I could not avoid debt but I tried to have it tax deductible. Most importantly, lived within my income after savings. A good guide book that gives you the basics is the Wealthy Barber. He doesn't give any new ideas but consolidates them in a readable form. A couple of other thoughts, the only wealth you truly have is between your ears as everything else can be taken from you (holocaust survivor). Wealth or riches are not fixed amounts. Some people can feel rich and live on less than $20 K per year and other people feel poor making $100K.

 

[kkelso]

Most importantly, lived within my income after savings.

A brief but powerful idea.

 

[mur11]

A better arrangement is to have your parents transfer all of their
assets to you before they pass away as they can always live on welfare.

Not sure if you're serious, but if you are, you're a terrible person
You actually want your parents to live on welfare?????

 

[msog87]

Not going to mention names, but, apparently, one of our TERBies is heir to his family's trucking empire. Yes, there is good money in trucking. Heard another TERBie won a multi-million dollar lottery. Who knows where the truth lies?

you mean rich men like prostitutes?

 

[mrsCALoki]

3. Understand that a $500/hr escort is not twice as good as a $250/hr escort.

How many of us have you tried?

My guess is we might be. :roll: but only men who have spent a lot of time with us would know.

 

[msog87]

i'm 25, have a 100k net worth in stocks and other assets, debt free. I plan to quit working by age 40, hopefully a millionaire from the stock market. here are my rules:

- live with your parents for as long as you can to avoid paying rent. ( im with my dad hes more a roommate than a father, I dont see the point of moving out and living with some random claiming your "independant". I will be moving out in the next couple years im just in no rush.

- DON;T GO TO UNIVERSITY FOR SOME BS COURSE!, very important. learn actual skills that are in demand.

- save as much of your income as you can, as you get older of course the amount youll be able to save will get smaller, but it shouldnt go below 25%.

- avoid wasting money on the new must have electronics, and avoid eating out too much. you should always bring food to work, avoid habitually buying those $5 lattes.

- BUY THINGS THAT HAVE INSTRINSIC VALUE! basically every consumer spends 99% of their money on things that eventually becomes worthless. for instance, during the past 6 months I spent about 8k on silver bullion...I buy things that I expect are gonna substantially increase in value. my next big ticket item is going to be a luxury watch, that will you guessed it retain its value. this is my mentality.

- you don;t need expensive clothes to look good!, I work out and go to gym, look after myself. I can buy a $10 shirt and look like a million bucks.

- stay away from materialistic women! I personally have never had a serious relationship, I don't want one, its just not my mentality i could have had many relationships. I don't need a distraction, my goal is to get rich I am planning for my future I'm dumbfounded by so many men my age looking too soon settle down. women will hold you back from getting rich. I can settle down when im 40.

- use cash back credit cards never debit, don't buy a new car they are horrible purchases that lose a ton of value

- renting is ok!, a house is not an investment as it costs you money to own!, a house can lose value. you need to pay interest, make repairs, pay taxes. sure if the housing market tanks housing is attractive to buy. if I were to buy a place it would be a rental property and I wouldnt be living in it id be renting somewhere.

 

[gdnya]

i'm 25, have a 100k net worth in stocks and other assets, debt free. I plan to quit working by age 40, hopefully a millionaire from the stock market. here are my rules:

- live with your parents for as long as you can to avoid paying rent. ( im with my dad hes more a roommate than a father, I dont see the point of moving out and living with some random claiming your "independant". I will be moving out in the next couple years im just in no rush.

- DON;T GO TO UNIVERSITY FOR SOME BS COURSE!, very important. learn actual skills that are in demand.

- save as much of your income as you can, as you get older of course the amount youll be able to save will get smaller, but it shouldnt go below 25%.

- avoid wasting money on the new must have electronics, and avoid eating out too much. you should always bring food to work, avoid habitually buying those $5 lattes.

- BUY THINGS THAT HAVE INSTRINSIC VALUE! basically every consumer spends 99% of their money on things that eventually becomes worthless. for instance, during the past 6 months I spent about 8k on silver bullion...I buy things that I expect are gonna substantially increase in value. my next big ticket item is going to be a luxury watch, that will you guessed it retain its value. this is my mentality.

- you don;t need expensive clothes to look good!, I work out and go to gym, look after myself. I can buy a $10 shirt and look like a million bucks.

- stay away from materialistic women! I personally have never had a serious relationship, I don't want one, its just not my mentality i could have had many relationships. I don't need a distraction, my goal is to get rich I am planning for my future I'm dumbfounded by so many men my age looking too soon settle down. women will hold you back from getting rich. I can settle down when im 40.

- use cash back credit cards never debit, don't buy a new car they are horrible purchases that lose a ton of value

- renting is ok!, a house is not an investment as it costs you money to own!, a house can lose value. you need to pay interest, make repairs, pay taxes. sure if the housing market tanks housing is attractive to buy. if I were to buy a place it would be a rental property and I wouldnt be living in it id be renting somewhere.

Don't disagree with most of this. A house though, does have intrinsic value, as does property generally. I have done better with property over the years than with other investments. I think a house in Toronto is a safer investment than silver bullion.

 

[jonadams]

My two cents - do whatever you do very well and they will find you

Well said

 

[msog87]

Don't disagree with most of this. A house though, does have intrinsic value, as does property generally. I have done better with property over the years than with other investments. I think a house in Toronto is a safer investment than silver bullion.

well yes, housing does have instrinsic value. but like any other asset class there are good times to buy and bad times. buying a house today for example would be a very bad decision. but technically, a house isnt an investment as it costs money to own....can it appreciate in value? yes.

 

[d_jedi]

If I had the cash I would love to get a rental property near a university in a town like kingston or london. The fees for a property manager are quite reasonable one quote was 6% of the rent.

Any thoughts about US real estate.. particularily in the southern US (Arizona, Las Vegas, Florida..)?

 

[afterhours]

i'm 25, have a 100k net worth in stocks and other assets, debt free. I plan to quit working by age 40, hopefully a millionaire from the stock market. here are my rules:

- live with your parents for as long as you can to avoid paying rent. ( im with my dad hes more a roommate than a father, I dont see the point of moving out and living with some random claiming your "independant". I will be moving out in the next couple years im just in no rush.

- DON;T GO TO UNIVERSITY FOR SOME BS COURSE!, very important. learn actual skills that are in demand.

- save as much of your income as you can, as you get older of course the amount youll be able to save will get smaller, but it shouldnt go below 25%.

- avoid wasting money on the new must have electronics, and avoid eating out too much. you should always bring food to work, avoid habitually buying those $5 lattes.

- BUY THINGS THAT HAVE INSTRINSIC VALUE! basically every consumer spends 99% of their money on things that eventually becomes worthless. for instance, during the past 6 months I spent about 8k on silver bullion...I buy things that I expect are gonna substantially increase in value. my next big ticket item is going to be a luxury watch, that will you guessed it retain its value. this is my mentality.

- you don;t need expensive clothes to look good!, I work out and go to gym, look after myself. I can buy a $10 shirt and look like a million bucks.

- stay away from materialistic women! I personally have never had a serious relationship, I don't want one, its just not my mentality i could have had many relationships. I don't need a distraction, my goal is to get rich I am planning for my future I'm dumbfounded by so many men my age looking too soon settle down. women will hold you back from getting rich. I can settle down when im 40.

- use cash back credit cards never debit, don't buy a new car they are horrible purchases that lose a ton of value

- renting is ok!, a house is not an investment as it costs you money to own!, a house can lose value. you need to pay interest, make repairs, pay taxes. sure if the housing market tanks housing is attractive to buy. if I were to buy a place it would be a rental property and I wouldnt be living in it id be renting somewhere.

may I ask: why bother trying to get rich if you can live happily without good clothes, good cars, restaurants, houses and women anyway?